Steam & Oak Halla 120 Barrel Ice Bath with Chiller

The Halla 120 is the traditional one: a round banded barrel, Ø120 cm, with stainless steel bands, a PVC liner and a timber ladder over the side.

If the thermowood boxes look too much like appliances for your garden, this is the honest alternative.

The barrel, done properly

A banded barrel is the oldest form of cold immersion tub there is, and it still works: the staves and steel bands hold the shape under water pressure, the round form is efficient, and it looks like it belongs in a garden rather than a gym.

The liner is PVC rather than a moulded acrylic shell, which is what keeps the price down — it is more forgiving of the shape and easier to replace than a bonded liner if it is ever damaged.

A timber ladder is included. On a round tub of this height that is not optional, and we would rather include it than list it as an extra.

Specification

What the chiller actually does

The chiller holds the water at whatever temperature you set, year-round, without ice. Set it to 4°C and it stays at 4°C — in February and in August.

That sounds like a convenience, and it is, but the real effect is on how often the tub gets used. A plunge you can step into at 6am without having remembered to buy ice the night before is a plunge you use daily. One that needs planning is one you use occasionally.

The unit includes a filter, which circulates and cleans the water continuously. That is what makes daily use practical without changing the water constantly.

Prefer to start without one? The same tub is available as a self-fill cold plunge, and a chiller can be retrofitted later.

Water care

Cold water still needs looking after, but far less than a hot tub. The chiller unit includes a filter that circulates and cleans the water continuously. You will also want a sanitiser — we stock tablets — and to change the water periodically depending on use.

Cold water holds bacteria far less readily than hot, so maintenance is genuinely lighter than most people expect. It is not zero.

Siting it

A firm, level base. Water weighs a tonne per cubic metre — a 470 litre tub is nearly half a tonne before anyone gets in. Paving slabs, a concrete pad or a rated deck. Not soft ground, and not a lawn.

Drainage. You will empty it periodically, so think about where several hundred litres will go.

Power. The chiller needs a standard outdoor socket — no special supply, but it must be an RCD-protected exterior socket, not an extension lead through a window.

Cold and heat together

Contrast therapy — hot then cold — is the traditional Finnish pattern, and the reason a plunge tub next to a sauna gets used far more than one on its own. If you are building both, put them close together: the walk between them in a British winter is exactly the friction that stops people bothering.

See our garden saunas and the off-grid gas heaters that let you put one at the far end of the garden without a trench.

2-year warranty

Two years on the tub and on the chiller unit. Covers manufacturing defects and workmanship.

Lead time — please ask before you order

Lead times vary with stock and specification — anything from 2 to 12 weeks. Ask us before you commit and we will give you the real date.

Delivery

Delivered on a pallet. Assembly is straightforward but the liner needs care on installation — our team can fit it if you would rather not.

Images are manufacturer renders. Photographs include installed builds.